Phil Hay

Uwe Rosler singled out Sol Bamba for praise but said he had seen ample room for improvement after Leeds United’s first pre-season friendly ended in a 1-1 draw with Harrogate Town.

Steve Morison’s 48th-minute header averted defeat last night as Leeds began their summer schedule at a packed Wetherby Road.

United, who fielded different teams in each half, fell behind to a goal from Cecil Nyoni shortly after the half hour but they recovered from a tired start to dominate their non-league opponents after the break.

Bamba – signed recently on a two-year deal from Palermo – turned in a typically physical display in the centre of defence to strangle Harrogate in the second half and his late block prevented Town from snatching a last-minute winner against the run of play.

Head coach Rosler said: “Everyone got 45 minutes and there were no injuries.

“That’s the positive thing. Avoiding injuries is a big thing.

“The second half was a better tempo from us and Sol Bamba was fantastic.

“That’s how I wish to see my defenders competing. Lee Erwin also showed glimpses of why we got him. He’s an exciting prospect.

“But for us there is still a long way to go. In the first half, with the 3-5-2 formation, some players were hesitating. They weren’t 100 per cent comfortable but that’s okay. We want to expose them to that and we’ve only had two technical (training) sessions.

“I saw some encouraging signs but I also saw a lot of areas where we have to improve.

Roles and responsibilities weren’t always clear but I was happy with how Sol Bamba set the tone in our backline. We were much more competitive in the second half.”

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